There are a number of successful services we provide at the Desert Southwest United Methodist Foundation. We offer investment management services. We offer charitable giving vehicles like donor advised funds and charitable gift annuities. We provide grants and scholarships. We offer educational services — this newsletter being an example — but we also work with individual congregations to educate their donors about wise giving. And we do consulting.
Our educational programs at churches often involve discussions after worship services on wise ways to give charitably – either now or through an estate plan. We have found that most congregations want those presentations between Labor Day and Easter. During the summer we are often called upon to sit down with pastors, endowment committees, and foundation committees to strategize on the best way to achieve sustainability or conduct a special campaign.
Recently, visiting a church for an educational presentation, we learned that the congregation needed a quick turn-around on air conditioner repair and replacement to the tune of $35,000. We worked with them to develop a plan to approach different church members for different levels of giving for a one-time special gift commitment. They achieved their $35,000 goal in weeks. The foundation got the project underway by committing a grant matching the first $5,000.
Other congregations want to visit with us about endowment giving. As we all look down the road at sustainability, encouraging gifts for the future through endowment is a wise move for some churches. We can help you prepare for and conduct your charge conference. And once the endowment is in place, we can help those congregations consider certain gifts to promote and help educate their congregation about making those gifts.
Basically, the Desert Southwest United Methodist Foundation is here to serve you and your Church or organization. Feel free to take advantage of our expertise and assistance. Our calling is quite simply to Do More Good.